However, in terms of weaponry, they mounted large calibre guns in the manner of a coastal defense monitor, and lacked the speed or a higher muzzle velocity main battery typical of ships designed per the tenets of the then-popular Jeune Ecole theory promoted by French naval architect Emile Bertin.

[citation needed] Jingyuan and Laiyuan were second in displacement after the Beiyang Fleet battleships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, but were deficient in speed and firepower compared with contemporary vessels such as the British-built Elswick cruisers.

Although its armor belt gave Jingyuan an advantage over non-protected vessels, its two-inch lacquered teak deck made it flammable in the event of a battle.

In early 1894, both vessels accompanied Dingyuan and Zhenyuan on a visit to Singapore, but the flotilla was recalled to Weihaiwei on the eve of the First Sino-Japanese War with the Empire of Japan.

With Laiyuan apparently doomed, the Japanese flying squadron led by Admiral Tsuboi Kozo (Yoshino, Takachiho, Akitsushima, and Naniwa), concentrated fire on Jingyuan for over an hour.